Chemical Equilibrium- Blood Sugar Regulation

Introduction:The main goal of this project was to discuss how chemical equilibrium comes into play in a variety of topics. We also had to tie in Le Chatelier's principle and how it affects equilibrium. Each person chose one topic that interested them and made a social media campaign to inform others about the relationship between chemical equilibrium and their topic. Through this project we got the opportunity to obtain a deeper understanding of both chemical equilibrium and Le Chatelier's principle. For my project I decided to research the chemical equilibrium involved in blood sugar regulation in the human body.

Concepts:

Chemical Equilibrium- Chemical equilibrium can be defined as a state at which the reactants and products of a reaction have no tendency to change. This can occur when both the forward and reverse reactions proceed at the same rates.

Le Chatelier's Principle- Le Chatelier's principle states that if a system at equilibrium is subjected to a stress, the equilibrium is shifted in the direction that relieves the stress. As a general rule, when a stress in increased, the reactions shifts away from the stress. On the other hand, when the stress is reduced, the reaction will move towards the stress. The three stresses involved are changes in concentration, changes in temperature, and changes in pressure.​*Changes in pressure only affect reactions with gases.

My Project:For my project i created a Prezi. Click the button below to view it!

Reflection:​Although this was a very short project, I felt that I was able to learn a lot about chemical equilibrium, Le Chatelier's principle, and forward and reverse reactions. I enjoyed being able to choose the topic that we wished to research because it allowed me to be more interested in the project as a whole. One peak of the project was that i was able to understand chemical equilibrium on a deeper level by applying it to a process that is necessary in the human body. Another peak was being able to learn about blood sugar levels in the body and how those levels are regulated. Even though there were many positive facets of this project, I still ran into a few bumps in the road. First of all, I originally wanted to research the chemical equilibrium involved in Alzheimer's disease, but unfortunately I was unable to find very much information regarding reverse reactions and maintaining equilibrium. Another obstacle that I faced was finding the chemical equation regarding blood sugar levels in the body. I was able to find the chemical formulas for glucose, glucagon, and insulin (the chemicals involved in maintaining equilibrium) and place them into an equation that showed the forward and reverse reactions that occur in blood sugar regulation. If i were to change anything about this project, I would make it longer so that we would be able to further our research and create a better final product. Overall, I believe that i benefitted greatly from doing this project.